Survey Reveals the Climate of Concern About Warming

A survey was published yesterday by GlobeScan measuring how people of various countries felt about climate change and the actions that should be taken to combat it. Overall, "very serious" concern for climate change worldwide is up to nearly two-thirds of those polled and only 6% oppose a climate deal in Copenhagen.

Fantastic? Not so fast. Concern for climate change by the world's biggest CO2 emitters, China and the US, has dropped. The survey was conducted in an effort to gauge worldwide opinion on topics of climate change on the heels of COP15, and included 24 thousand respondents from 23 nations, revealing the disparity of feelings regarding climate change around the world.

Latin-American nations were, by far, the most concerned with climate change, with 86% of Chileans and Brazilians reporting that climate change was "a very serious problem." It is no wonder, examining these results, why the leaders from Latin-American countries seem more enthusiastic about effecting change than others.

The United States and China, on the other hand, show quite a bit less concern, returning 45% and 57%, respectively, to the same questions--despite being the world's top CO2 emitters.

Do you consider warming "a very serious problem?"

Chile - 86%

Brazil - 86%

Costa Rica - 83%

Philippines - 83%

Mexico - 81%

Turkey - 81%

China - 57%

USA - 45%

Additionally, the percentage of those in Latin-America who considered climate change "not a serious problem," stood in stark contrast to the world's top CO2 emitters. Only 2% of Brazilian respondents delivered that response while it didn't score at all for Chileans. The US topped this list with 12% apparently unconvinced of climate change.

Also measured was people's willingness for their leaders to settle on an agreement in Copenhagen, with 62% of Britons, 61% of Canadians and Kenyans, and 57% of Japanese, French, and Australians supporting an agreement. The US once again topped the list opposing reaching an agreement with 14%, trailed by Pakistan and Brazil's 12% in opposition.

Do you oppose reaching an agreement?

USA - 14%

Pakistan - 12%

Brazil - 12%

Germany - 1%

Italy - 2%

France - 2%

Chile - 2%

The survey sought to find which nations were most willing to put their money where there mouth is. Although China didn't score so highly when it came to their feelings that climate change was "a very serious problem," a whopping 89% of Chinese surveyed said that they were willing to make investments, even if it pinches their economy; Only 52% of Americans felt the same way.

An analysis of the survey by the BBC noted that the stronger leaning support for action on climate change by Latin-American nations may be reflective of the importance given to the issue by regional press and their governement officials.

A survey was published yesterday by GlobeScan measuring how people of various countries felt about climate change and the actions that should be taken to combat it. Overall, "very serious" concern for climate change worldwide is up to nearly two-thirds